Garden for a Snake
by Memory in Crimson
Summary: The royal gardens have been Cedric's sanctuary all the years that he has served the Queen. When Phobos bans him, he assumes the worst of the Prince.


**Author note: **This is a side-story that takes place with the universe set in _Kiss the Snake Good Night_. While you needn't read that story, it might add some clarity that the Annotations below do not.

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"Garden for a Snake"

Without any explanation, Prince Phobos had forbidden Lord Cedric to access the gardens.

The young Aaronag had asked for a reason, of course, and unlike when he had served beneath the Prince's father, he feared no reprisal. He had the consort's pale hair and gaunt face but not his quick temper. However, that day, the Prince had cut him down quickly:

"All the lands that were my mother's and all the property that was hers are _mine_. _I_ say who may go where, and I order this of you—that until I let you, you may _not_ enter the gardens. Is that clear?"

The Prince had not snarled at him since the sleepless nights leading to the final battles against the deposed Queen. During those trying days and stressful hours, Cedric had taken none of his biting to heart. In fact, he had learned long ago, when he began to serve the Escanor royals, how to cope with the Prince's dark moods. His ability to withstand any abrupt sling had allowed him to last as Prince Phobos's attendant for years. His mental skin was as thick as his serpentine hide, and the force needed to penetrate it needed to be enormous.

This unexpected demand had drawn blood, and the lord shrank beneath his master's voice. Prince Phobos knew what the gardens meant to him. Indeed, each man, independent of the other, had discovered that the gardens were a sanctuary. The Prince knew that Cedric cherished the vast grounds as a place to which to flee when he needed relief. It had been the one place where he had been allowed to be himself during Queen Chesed's reign, when in every other part of the castle, he had been ordered to don his vulnerable _Meshi'is_.

Lord Cedric bowed his head and replied, "Yes, your Highness." Afterwards, he retreated to his chamber, as an old chill crept into his blood.

His sanctuary had been stolen from him. His home away from home—no, it was a not quite home; nevertheless, it had trees and bushes and and flowers and vines, not dark, cold stone and chopped wood, illuminated by the sickly glow of Threbite lanterns. He felt one with the greenery, where he could conceal his great coils and worry not that anyone would bother him. None could sneak upon him, and no man could drag him out to be terrorised for a whole night and expect him to function the next morning, as though no crime had transpired.

His brother had warned him that his love of the Escanor would place him in peril. The great ladies had warned him that Escanors used and used and _used_ other peoples and the gifts of the land until they were satisfied (and according to the Great Lady Amitra, few Escanors were ever satisfied). Was the Prince preparing to cast his beloved courtier aside—a tool that had served its purpose? The thought that he had used Cedric's misfortune to justify removing the Queen and claiming the throne sickened him.

_"Always be careful, my beloved,"_ his brother had said. _"You would give your heart to him, but shall he give his to you?"_

Cedric had been certain once or twice—a few memorable times, actually, not the least of which was their first night together. During those early days, he had had the passion for taking the throne, but he had been too stressed, harbouring unspoken fear, to think clearly. Only Cedric had had the pleasure of embracing the Prince, causing his flesh to melt beneath his fingers and his lips and chasing the fear away.

Nowadays, the Prince thought with a clearer and cooler head. He had purged the court not only of those who had stood steadfast with the Queen but the few cowards who had turned quickly to pledge their allegiance to him (Phobos did not trust those who changed masters so easily). He had made pacts with dark lords and ladies, creatures who shared the same goals as he and did not challenge his authority. Only the Aaronagim, one of the most reclusive folk Phobos had approached, had failed to swear their loyalty, for though they had made contact with the royal family in previous years, it was only under conditions that they controlled tightly within their coils.

_Is he punishing me?_ Cedric wondered. _For what _they_ decided?_

Phobos knew the history. He had known that asking for support from Cedric's people would have been a vain endeavour. By the mercy of the gods alone had Queen Chesed been allowed to meet with the highest ladies in the past. If this was a punishment, it had been a long time coming, but it was sufficiently cruel.

Certain he might drive himself mad, Cedric vowed to think no more on it. Prince Phobos needed the assurance that he could trust the lord, especially during these long months, when the new ruler needed people to support his word. If Cedric could not restrain himself, he might discredit the already questionable ruler and oh! What hell there would be!

However, he worried. When sleep was permitted of him, he could not rest, especially during the night, when strange noises creaked and groaned from his former sanctuary. He heard cracking and snapping and sometimes what sounded like the _thud-thud-thudding_ of an axe. His blood became cold, and since he could not exact his woe upon the Prince, the guards felt his frustration every time he whipped his tail for the most insignificant mistakes.

Prince Phobos noticed nothing until one supper, many weeks after he had handed him the proscription.

"You look thinner," began the Prince.

"I had not noticed, your Highness," he hissed softly.

"You've seemed ill for some time," he said. Then he sipped his wine and said, "What has taken your strength, Lord Cedric?"

"I don't know, your Highness," he hissed.

Cedric recoiled from the glare that followed. Setting his goblet as calmly on the table as mustered, Phobos replied, "If you are going to lie, Lord Cedric, I want you to lie _for_ me, not _to_ me."

"Yes, your Highness."

"Now, what troubles you? You avoid eye contact with me. You punish yourself far faster than I can for any mistake. _And_ the fact that you no longer call me by name but by _your Highness_, as though I have become untouchable, betrays your unease."

Cedric frowned. He lowered himself so that he could be face-to-face with the Prince, and he replied, "I've been worried about the gardens. I used go to them, and I could feel _safe_."

"You don't feel safe _now_?" asked Phobos.

"Please don't misunderstand," said Cedric. "I do feel safer. I don't need to flick my tongue out every time I approach a corner, fretting about some cur lying in wait for me. But the gardens... I loved the gardens almost as much as you love your roses. After all, plants can't judge you. They can't _threaten _you and corner you the way... people do."

The Prince's expression softened. Cedric could tell that he, too, was reliving that terrible day that had propelled the Prince's intentions to break ties with his family. It was partly why he despised when Cedric withheld information, for if he had known such things sooner, he would have acted much more quickly.

"Well, with the exception of the Karlak tree and carnivorous members of the Vorgoremvim family," said the Prince, "I understand what you mean completely." Then he stood and said, "I think it's time I rescind my forbiddance and show you what I've been up to."

Cedric's heart fluttered, stirred by the Prince's mercy. He reverted into his _Meshi'is_ and followed the Prince out the dining hall, through the courtyard, and to the gate of the gardens.

Many of the plants and trees that had been there for many generations had been replaced by shrubs known to sprout no blossoms and by squat trees whose branches wept like the willow. Rose bushes stood tall and proudly throughout, while fat, thorny vines crept beside the stony path. Tiny whispers echoed on the evening wind, and the crimson pollen of the Axeman's flower bobbed above their heads.

The Prince arrived at a great hedge, and when he moved his hands, the shrubs parted. He stood aside and allowed the lord to enter before him.

Dotting the large, grassy courtyard were Pomgrandumum shrubs, each heavy with the burgundy flowers that blossomed before they sprouted fruit. In the distance, Cedric spotted a great pond filled with Srucilian lotuses, the flower of his homeland. The greatest jewels in the garden were Lerynian figs trees; for Cedric ate nothing sweet save those figs, and none in the palace during Chesed's reign would have noticed the little shape-shifter's fondness for them—

—save, it appeared, the Prince.

Strolling across the soft grass to one tree, Cedric brushed his fingers against the fruit that it bore. None had turned the rich rosewood red yet, that would have signalled their ripeness, but these trees, which had not existed before, had grown so quickly.

"It's all for you."

Cedric turned, eyes wide with surprise.

"Your Highness?"

"I could tell what days you visited the gardens," said the Prince. "Your eyes had more fire, and you were more inclined to speak your mind rather than mindlessly obey. I still value your wisdom, Lord Cedric. I need soldiers and serfs to obey. I need _you_ for so much more."

All this time, he had fretted for naught. But Prince Phobos was not one to bestow gifts, let alone pour so much energy—so much of his _life force_—into such a project without reason. As for the harshness of his earlier command—well, he certainly did not want the word spreading that he was kind in the least, even to his favourite. He needed to be firm.

Kneeling before Prince Phobos, he kissed his hand gently and said, "I am grateful beyond words, my Prince. I haven't the means to repay you."

"But you do." He held forth one fig that had ripened before the others. Offering it to Cedric, he said, "Swear to me to serve me always and protect me as I have protected you."

To smile would have been indecorous, and besides, one could not display joy in his Highness's presence without riling his disgust.

"I have, and I do again. I swear it."

Then he took fruit and bit.

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**Annotations:**

_Aaronag _(race; pl. _Aaronagim_) Cedric's people; shape-shifting serpent folk, one of the oldest in Metamoor and also one of the most weary of outsiders.

_Escanor royals_ (historical note) Escanor is interchangeable with 'human' and is not limited to referring to the royal line associated with the Light of Meridian.

_Queen Chesed_ (name) Phobos and Elyon's mother. In the comics, she was unnamed, and in the cartoon, she was called Weira. In keeping with the spirit of mythological names, I've called _Chesed_, after the Hebrew sephirot representing 'loving-kindness.'

_Meshi'is_ (Aaronag) 'weak body.' The human (or Galhot) bodies that Aaronagim shape-shift into to avoid detection.

_Great Lady Amitra_ (historical note) one of the highest-ranking Aaronagim. Though she has always remained suspicious of humans, she permitted the royal family access to her homeland on specially sanctioned occasions.


End file.
